Time is really quite amazing in how it expands and contracts—it’s been eleven or maybe twelve days since Lil and I left the orphanage, our Tanzania safari along with Christmas has come and gone and we are now midway through the third stage of our trip—Zanzibar.

As far as the orphanage is concerned I must admit that we left with many mixed feelings. The tassel between the supporting Swiss foundation and the man in charge of the place took some of the fun and joy we experienced with the children away. As a counselor I found it quite fascinating to watch two mindsets that are 180 degrees apart try to negotiate. But as a human being I found the scene very disconcerting because the losers in this drama, would be the children. When we left there was a wonderful Kenyan woman we met who was also caught in the drama—last we heard she was negotiating between the two sides. I very much hope the conflict will be resolved. I would love to come back next year to see the kids and their progress. And now that I have a much better idea of what I could bring and do, I would stay longer. Lilly feels the same.  I will add that most people we spoke with told us that the conflict we witnessed was quite common.  The children are used as an enticement for money coming in from abroad to line the pockets of anyone but the children. It was really quite obvious that as helpless as we felt there was nothing we could do in this situation but watch and try not to get too caught up. Sad!

Ok on to the safari…wow what a feast for the eyes and soul that far exceeded our expectations. I tried not to have too many expectations but I kept finding myself saying oh my god this is so much more than I ever thought I’d see…

Our safari took us throughout North East Tanzania. The landscape changed from verdant rain forest to yellowy flat savanna.  This is the short rainy season and so the weather changed from hot and humid to hot and dry to cool and rainy, sometime all in one day. I never put African safari and cool together but they were, especially when the wind picked up in the hills. We often wore long sleeves in the morning and at night.

As for the animals…how do I describe what its like to drive down a dirt road and see elephants, zebras or giraffes right alongside your vehicle.  I was awed. I also loved the idea of being enclosed in the car and seeing wild animals on their own turf. We saw lions eating a kill and their cubs playing with one another, cheetahs lazing about, baboons doing baboons, a spotted hyena on the side of the road digesting his food he wouldn’t move for the car. There wildebeests and eagles, hypos, and rhinos and for whatever reason zebras just made me happy. I loved their stripes and what a sight they are when you see hundreds of them all together. We were there to see the migration…talk about awesome. The wildebeests were around us 360 degrees and as far as the eye could see.  Now that’s awesome.

Everyday was different and gave us a new appreciation for what we have on this planet. I am still overwhelmed by what we saw. And, as fate would have it, our driver/guide Dixon was the perfect guide—we called him Dixon the hawkeyed encyclopedia. His understated personality, ability to spot animals and vast knowledge of their behavior added much depth to our safari. Alongside seeing the animals we often received a lesson in why they were doing what they were doing.

The nine days…went by too fast. As I sit here facing the Indian Ocean (I know, boo hoo) the safari already seems so far away.

I am going to post the written part first and then do the pictures…if anyone out there knows how to do the pictures do the flip thing rather than show them all at once, let me know. Word Press changed its format and I can’t seem to get it to do what I want.

Zanzibar… next installment